The copilot-turned-hijacker, who landed Ethiopian Airlines’ plane in Geneva on Monday is held in an undisclosed area, according to Genevalunch.
The Swiss media reported quoted citing Geneva’s public prosecutor’s office as saying:
“The interviews with the copilot are continuing. Without going into details, we can confirm that it’s a matter, first of all, of obtaining a clear picture of what precisely happened during the time when the plane was hijacked.”
Media reports indicate that the man appeared before a Swiss court on Thursday and a lawyer have appointed for him.
A news by “Nederlands Dagblad”(translated by google) reads:
The co-pilot of who hijacked the Ethiopian plane earlier this week will remain stuck. It has a Swiss court ruled Thursday. The co-pilot remains fixed as long as the investigation is ongoing.
Speculating on the fate of the man, Swiss media indicated that his chances for asylum are slim. A Swiss media – in German language, named “Newspaper Switzerland”, wrote that:
The hijacker claimed to be in danger in his country. He intends to apply for asylum in Switzerland because he was threatened in his country.
“This man does not really have the best conditions for an acceptance of an application,” said Council of State Pierre Maudet. Instead, we are strong-minded against hijacker.
The prosecutor of Geneva, Olivier Jornot, said the co-pilot will be charged of hostage-taking and cold face a prison of up to 20 years. The chances of the man to get asylum are slight.
“Actually, there is no link between asylum and the fact that he committed a crime, to come here,” Jornot said. “But I’m assuming that his chances are not very high.”
Horn Affairs learnt from sources in Geneva that the hijacker has undertaken psychological evaluation and declined to use Ethiopian translator. The source added that the Prosecutor’s office received letters from in support of the hijacker from several Ethiopian opposition grouping including some based in Addis Ababa as well as Amnesty International. The Head Quarter of Amnesty International didn’t respond to an email query on the matter.
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